Dewar and Team Part of $3M Grant from Erb Foundation for Research on Green Stormwater Infrastructure

Dewar and Team Part of $3M Grant from Erb Foundation for Research on Green Stormwater Infrastructure

An interdisciplinary team led by Professor Joan Nassauer of the School of Natural Resources and Environment, including Professor of Urban and Regional Planning Margaret Dewar, is part of a $3 million grant from the Erb Family Foundation to continue their research on green stormwater infrastructure.

The research focuses on assessing effects of installing green infrastructure in vacant Detroit properties to deter local flooding and the flow of stormwater into the Detroit and Rouge rivers. The project will measure water quality and residents’ perceptions related to landscapes and health in the areas where innovative green infrastructure has been installed.

Professor of Urban Planning Margi Dewar is leading the project’s governance assessment in collaboration with Professor Alicia Alvarez in the U-M Law School. Dewar is working to understand governance of the land use transition from derelict structure to green infrastructure - which shrinking city plans such as Detroit Future City advocate, but turn out to be nearly impossible and enormously expensive to make happen. Dewar’s aim is to explain the barriers existing governance structure poses for implementation of green infrastructure and to recommend solutions.

The researchers are collaborating with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, the Detroit Land Bank Authority, neighborhood organizations in the Cody Rouge area, and others.